Wiki

John William Chancellor (July 14, 1927–July 12, 1996) was a well-known American journalist, who spent most of his career associated with the NBC television network. His most famous career achievement was anchoring the NBC Nightly News from 1970 to 1982.

Chancellor attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1949. Originally a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, he first started his career in national television news as a correspondent on NBC's evening newscast, the Huntley-Brinkley Report.

Chancellor covered issues of national importance while on The Huntley-Brinkley Report, such as the 1957 integration of the Little Rock Central High School. He spent a number of years as a foreign correspondent in Europe, with postings in Vienna, London, Moscow, and Brussels (NATO Headquarters). In July 1961, he replaced Dave Garroway as host of The Today Show, a role he filled for fourteen months. At the 1964 Republican National Convention, he was arrested for refusing to cede his spot on the floor to "Goldwater Girls," supporters of the Republican presidential candidate, Barry Goldwater. When security came to get him, he was forced to sign off: "I've been promised bail, ladies and gentlemen, by my office. This is John Chancellor, somewhere in custody." He then became the director of the Voice of America in 1965, at the request of President Lyndon Johnson, a spot he held until 1967.